UN Report Accuses Israel of Committing "Genocide" in Gaza

In a highly significant development, the independent international commission of inquiry for the occupied Palestinian territories has released a powerful report accusing Israel of committing the crime of genocide in the Gaza Strip. In this 72-page legal analysis, the commission concluded that Israel has committed four out of the five acts that constitute the crime of genocide under the 1948 UN convention.

Acts of Genocide and Evidence of Intent

The report, considered one of the strongest conclusions from an independent UN body, identified the Israeli actions that amount to genocide as: killing, causing serious bodily or mental harm, deliberately inflicting destructive living conditions, and imposing measures to prevent births.

The commission based its conclusions on explicit statements from high-level Israeli officials, including President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, considering them proof of genocidal intent. The report also cited a letter written by Netanyahu that likened the Gaza operation to a "holy war of complete annihilation" in the Old Testament, viewing it as "direct evidence."

Legal Analysis and Eyewitness Testimonies

The commission applied the "only reasonable conclusion" standard, established by the International Court of Justice, and affirmed that starving Palestinians and imposing inhumane living conditions on them serves as evidence of genocidal intent. The commission supported its conclusions with interviews with victims, witnesses, and doctors, in addition to verified open-source documents and satellite imagery.

The head of the commission, Navi Pillay, a former head of the UN tribunal for Rwanda, compared the situation in Gaza to what happened in Rwanda, noting that dehumanizing victims makes it possible to kill them "without a pang of conscience."

Israel's Rejection of the Report

In an immediate reaction, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs "categorically rejected" the report, describing it as "biased and false" and accusing its authors of acting as "Hamas agents." It demanded the "immediate dissolution of this commission of inquiry," asserting that the report is based "entirely on Hamas lies."